SUNDERLAND SEE OUT VICTORY IN THRILLER
Buoyant Sunderland opened their account by posting their first league points of the season with a bonus try win over North Shields.
Captain Joe Arrowsmith declared himself fit to play and Craig Meike came into left wing berth to make his senior debut, while Richard Arrowsmith joined the replacements.
The dominance of Sunderland’s pack in the scrum was impressive, and their lineout play went virtually uncontested.
Within four minutes, Arrowsmith opened the scoring out wide, finishing off a well-worked driving maul from a Sunderland lineout.
The conversion was slotted home by Leon Ryan.
The score could have been doubled on eight minutes had Jack Hope been able to ground the ball after Sunderland pushed North Shield’s scrum back over their try line from five metres out.
Shields came back on 12 minutes to bring the scores to 7-5, only to concede further points as youngster Fletcher Jackson benefited from good forward play that saw the pack maul ball upfield. Luke Victory peeled off and crashed the ball over the gain line to release Hope, whose smart running lines drew defenders, ultimately setting up a two v one that Jackson gratefully finished.
Grant Edmundson came into the back row, while Joe Arrowsmith left the field to stem bleeding from a head wound.
With more enterprising play, Edmundson drove the ball forward and fended off his opposite number to offload to his younger cousin Dean Edmundson to score under the posts, converted by Ryan.
Craig Elstob made many fine tackles playing at six, while Sunderland’s front row were ever-present disrupting and turning over ball at the breakdown.
Richard Arrowsmith came into front row as prop Ryan Buckley received treatment for a blood wound.
With a minute to play, the North Shields number 8 picked and went from scrum to pass out wide for a score in the corner to bring half-time scores to 19-10
Sunderland extended the lead further with 52 minutes played.
Andy Wordsworth intercepted a Shields lineout ball which then passed through back row hands before Hope picked out Marc Edmundson to score under the posts. It was converted by Ryan for what would be Sunderland’s final points.
With 20 minutes to play, Grant Edmundson and Luke Robinson came on for Joe Arrowsmith and Craig Elstob who, with Hope, had delivered an imposing back row performance.
North Shields never stopped pushing, scoring on 65 minutes to make it 26-15.
In the build-up to a tense finish, Victory showed pace as he tracked back to tackle a Shields forward who had broken tackles and was barrelling down the 15-metre channel.
UnfortunatelyforVictory, who carried well throughout and showed great calmness and assurance under the high ball, the referee adjudged his tackle to be high and sent him to the sin bin.
In his absence, Shields scored a further two tries on 68 and 75 minutes taking scores to 26-25.
Sunderland forced a knock-on and cleared ball of the field from the resultant scrum to end the game victorious.
Sunderland’s Second XV were due to play at Horden, who called the game off due to player unavailability.